Disaster from a Distance Part !

There are few things more intriguing than watching other people's love lives blossom or wilt from a distance. She looks like a sturdy mid century nun her four inch wide cross her small suspicious eyes peering over wire rimmed glasses. Instead of the black habit, she wore t-shirts and instead of the veil, she wore a ponytail.  I took to calling her mother superior in my mind partly because of her appearance, but mostly because she was certain she was superior. She lived an anachronistic mix of eighteenth century governess, mid century nun, and post modern ideals. She seemed more likely to snitch or lord over than to participate in a scandal.  First, second, and tenth impressions aren't always right.                                                                                           I noticed it the first day back from the company's two week vacation in September.. Sturdy and stoic, she did not show emotion and in all the years we worked together. She had little patience or sympathy for those who suffered in any fashion and she especially despised the Monday catch-up sessions the other women in the department held during lunch. She would walk in to get cheese and crackers out of the vending machine, peer over her glasses in mild disgust and walk away. Emotion was a sign of weakness and she was out to rule the world, even if it was only the world of our department. Under the flickering florescent lights, her eyes turned icy. That all changed when Tim came was assigned to share a cubicle with her.                                       She walked in that Tuesday tanned and smiling. Tim came in a few minutes later and she flagged him down smiling and blushing like a teenager at her first dance. "Did you get my call?" "Oh yeah, sorry my wife and I had to take Cody to the ER last night?"                                             
  "Oh no!" her blush disappeared at the mention of his wife.                                                         
  "He's fine, just three stitches to make sure though," he said and walked to his side of the cubicle. She followed his every move.

At first, I thought it was my imagination, a sort of boredom induced hallucination after filing M-N all afternoon. Sue, a willowy blond stopped her filing and we gave each other a knowing look. From then on, it was a kind of secret game to spot exciting developments without ever referring to them in any form. Our department was known for its reliability and solid work and Theresa played a big part in that success. Every day at exactly 10:15 a bell rang and all the office workers either went outside to smoke or grab a quick cup of coffee before the bell rang again at 10:25.  Tim was a vegan and refused to touch the food in the cafeteria. Soon Theresa followed and they could be seen chatting over organic jimaca sticks she brought from home. He was a short stocky  guy with a tuft of blond hair who wore silly ties every Friday but almost never smiled. For the first year I knew Tim, I thought he was continuously angry at me. It turned out that was just his expression which hid a friendly if a bit obtuse nature. A father of three young sons, two of  whom needed braces, he and his wife had cut back on expenses by selling one of the cars. It turned Theresa was more than happy to carpool with him.Halloween came and when the bell for the end of our coffee break rang, neither Tim or Theresa were anywhere to be seen. Walking to the supply cabinet, I looked out the window. She was leaning on her car laughing and blushing while he took something out of  the backseat. She smoothed her black trousers with her hands and then started for the door.

Watching them was like watching a car accident in extremely slow motion, but it was deliciously bad at first.

Stay tune for parts 2 and 3